Arnold - Liquid intelligence : the art and science of the perfect cocktail

LIQUID INTELLIGENCE

THE ART AND SCIENCE

OF THE PERFECT COCKTAIL

DAVE ARNOLD

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRAVIS HUGGETT

FOR MY WIFE, JENNIFER, AND MY SONS, BOOKER AND DAX

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Cocktails are problems in need of solutions. How can I achieve a particular taste, texture, or look? How can I make the drink in front of me better? Taking cocktails seriously, as with all worthy inquiries, puts you on a lifelong journey. The more you know, the more questions you raise. The better a practitioner you become, the more you see the faults in your technique. Perfection is the goal, but perfection is, mercifully, unattainable. I have spent seven years and thousands of dollars on the problem of the perfect gin and tonic; I still have work to do. How boring if I were finishedif I were satisfied. Learning, studying, practicingand drinking with friends: that is what this book is about. The premise: no cocktail detail is uninteresting, none unworthy of study.

A little dose of science will do you good. THINK LIKE A SCIENTIST AND YOU WILL MAKE BETTER DRINKS . You dont need to be a scientist, or even understand much science, to use the scientific method to your advantage. Control variables, observe, and test your results; thats pretty much it. This book shows you how to make your drinks more consistent, how to make them consistently better, and how to develop delicious new recipes without taking random shots in the dark.

Sometimes on our journey, in hot pursuit of a particular flavor or idea, I use methods that are preposterous and equipment that is unattainable for most readers. Youll see what it means to run an idea into the ground. I also hope youll be entertained. I dont expect most people to tackle these more involved drinks, but youll get enough information to give them a go if you are willing and able. Ill hold nothing back and keep no secrets, which means there will be as many mishaps as successes (mistakes are often the origins of my best ideas). Last, I promise that there will be plenty of techniques, flavors, and drink ideas you can use, even if all you have is a set of cocktail shakers and some ice. Im out to change the way you look at drinks, no matter what kind of drinks you make.

This is not a book on molecular mixology (a term I detest). The connotations of molecular are all bad: gimmicks for gimmicks sake, drinks that dont taste very good, science gone wrong. My guidelines are simple:

Use new techniques and technologies only when they make the drink taste better.

Strive to make an amazing drink with fewer rather than more ingredients.

Dont expect a guest to know how you made a drink in order to enjoy it.

Gauge success by whether your guest orders another, not by whether he or she thinks the drink is interesting.

Build and follow your palate.

This book is divided into four parts. The first part deals with preliminariesequipment and ingredientsthat pave the way for the rest. The second part is a careful study of how classic cocktails work: the basics of shaker, mixing glass, ice, and liquor. The third part is an overview of newer techniques and ideas and how they relate to classic cocktails. The last part is a series of recipes, mini-journeys based on a particular idea. At the end you will find an annotated bibliography of cocktail books, science books, and cookbooks, plus journal articles that I find interesting and germane to our subject.

WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT PRETTY MUCH ALL THE TIME

I approach cocktails like everything I care about in life: persistently and from the ground up. Often I perceive an irksome problem in an existing cocktail, or become entranced with an idea or flavor, and my journey begins. I ask myself what I want to achieve, and then I beat down every path to get there. I want to see what is possible and what Im capable of. In the initial phases of working through a problem, I dont much care if what Im doing is reasonable. I prefer to go to absurd lengths to gain minute increments of improvement. I am okay with spending a week preparing a drink thats only marginally better than the one that took me five minutes. Im interested in the margins. Thats where I learn about the drink, about myself, and about the world. Sounds grandiose, but I mean it.

I am not unhappy, but I am never satisfied. Theres always a better way. Constantly questioning yourselfespecially your basic tenets and practicesmakes you a better person behind the bar, in front of the stove, or in whatever field you choose. I love it when my dearly held beliefs are proved wrong. It means Im alive and still learning.

I hate compromising, and I hate cutting corners, but sometimes I have to. You need to keep hating compromise at every turn while knowing how to compromise with minimum impact when necessary. Always be focused on the critical path to quality, from raw ingredients to the cup. I am often surprised by how much work someone will put into making ingredients for a drink, only to destroy all that work at the last moment. Remember, a drink can be ruined at any stage of its creation. Your responsibility for vigilance as a drink maker doesnt end until the drink is finishedand your responsibility as an alcoholic-drink maker doesnt end until the imbiber is safe and sound at home.

Having access to cool equipment has helped me develop ways of achieving good results without the equipment. In this section well look at the equipment I use at home and at my bar, Booker and Dax. Almost no onenot even well-heeled professional bartenderswill want or need all the equipment on this list. In the technique-based sections of the book Ill give you workarounds for the bigger-ticket and hard-to-find items as often as I can. At the end of this section youll find shopping lists organized by budget and interest.

A note on measurement, before we launch into a discussion of tools.

HOW AND WHY YOU SHOULD MEASURE DRINKS

Drinks should be measured by volume. I am a big believer in cooking by weight, but I mix drinks by volume, and so should you. Pouring out small volumes is much faster than weighing a bunch of small ingredients. Furthermore, the densities of cocktail ingredients vary wildly, from about .94 grams per millileter for straight booze to 1.33 grams per millileter for maple syrup. For the bartender, the weight of the finished beverage isnt important, but the volume is. The volume determines how close the top of the finished drink will be to the rim of the glass. This liquid line is called the wash line , and maintaining a proper wash line is essential to good bartending. In a professional setting, it is essential that your drinks be consistent. Having standard wash lines for each drink you prepare gives you an instant visual check that everything is okay. If your wash line is wrong, something is wrong with the drink. Consistent wash lines are also important to your guests well-being. Two people get the same drink, but one drink sits higher in the glass: do you like the person with the taller pour more, or are your techniques just a bit shaky?